Exploring the California Coast

My sister and I continued to explore with our two dogs, CeCe and Chorro, on our short vacation to the California coast.

As we left the inn where we spent the night, our last sight was this beautiful rhododendron. I'm imagining that rhodies like the sea air (or coastal soil) since they are so stunning on the coast and I see them infrequently inland. I couldn't resist the closeup.

We drove north along the coast a short way to Fort Bragg, a small town founded during the Civil War, which is sooo much more charming than its name. Here's the Skunk Train depot, formally known as the California Western Railroad, a short-line that originally transported redwoods to the lumber mill. It's now a tourist train and takes riders inland through the redwood forests.


Look at this beautiful old hotel. I love the architecture, the Spanish influence.

A new clean and green Starbucks. It's true that I get a little happy every time I see a Starbucks, and yes, I've got a charged up Starbucks card in my pocket, but I also show these for a former VP of Saks who understands :-)








Then, to the delight of CeCe and Chorro, we found another beach.






The pups were so funny. To get over to the beach we had to cross a little stream of water running toward it. Chorro was timid and CeCe had to coax him across the water (I couldn't) even though it was very shallow! She crossed back over to him and then back into the water and just waited for him in the middle of it until he finally came over.


He's not really a water dog, but he does like to wade in the water. But getting over that scarey running water opened up a big sandy beach to run on! 'Beach time' is fascinating in how quickly it passes while so little is done. Looking at the waves. Studying the rocks. Checking the sand for shells. Watching the ripples left by the tide.

You can see that our dogs made good use of their time. Here's Chorro studying the waves.


While CeCe looks for sealife at the water's edge.


Isn't this an amazing train trestle over the edge of the beach? It's called Pudding Creek trestle and I think Pudding Creek is the shallow water we waded through to get to the beach.


It was a little windy down here, but not bad. I think though, that wind is probably common here, judging by this evidence!

Eventually we were homeward bound. We took a different route, following the north shore of Clearlake this time.

Toward the end of the lake, we encountered a winery with an amazing flower show.
This called for a camera stop! My sister and I both had a great time looking for different angles to show the color and design of their floral gardens.











Then it was back to Marysville, tired and happy with our too brief but so worthwhile trip. I think we will all sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow is a new day.

Glimpses of Oregon

Today our journey took us through the Columbia River Gorge where the states of Oregon and Washington share the river as a boundary. This valley is as lush and beautiful a piece of the country as one could possibly create in a dream. Leaving the cities -- Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Vancouver and Portland -- behind and turning east along the route of the Columbia River Highway brought the deep green pines, majestically grounded beings of the earth, back into view.

I loved driving through the woods again. We couldn't resist a short byway through the woods to Multnomah Falls. The road was narrow and winding, but the prize was the falls.

According to a Native American legend, some people see the face of a beautiful Indian princess who sacrificed herself here for her people in these falls.

Next to Yosemite Falls, these are often claimed to be the highest falls in the United States, although Washington believes it has higher falls in some obscure locations.

How amazing! The roar of the falls and the soft mist of the spray immediately transported me to another world where I stood in awe of nature. Moments like this one make travelling so worth it.

Driving along the river, we see a gorgeous view of the Gorge around every bend.

In fact, you can see that the view behind is just as great as the view ahead!

This Columbia River Gorge was the route of Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean 200 years ago and later an important transportation and migration route. We saw about four hydroelectric dams on the Columbia. From its headwaters in Canada, the river actually has fourteen different electricity generating dams, three in Canada and the rest in Washington and along the Washington/Oregon boundary.

Nearing the eastern side of the gorge, we came through the Dalles, a town which is known for important geological data showing habitation some 10,000 years ago -- and for being a Google location. For those of us who enjoyed the book or movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," by Ken Kesey, we see the escaping Chief running through the Dalles in the early morning light after he find the strength to rise above the intimidation of Nurse Ratched who has brought about the lobotomy of his pal, 'Red' McMurphy, symbolically triumphing over all of the corruption and hypocrisy in the societal institutions of the fifties and sixties.

Miles beyond, we start our climb back into the mountains.

I notice that I feel light-hearted, anticipating the familiar sights to come. These are the Blue Mountains that flank La Grande, Oregon, where we will spend the night.

after watching the sun sink behind the foothills.

And tomorrow is a new day.

Seattle, Before and After Orcas

Seattle, Washington, largest city in the Pacific Northwest, was named for a Native American chief of the Suquamish and Duwamish Indian tribes. He is known for a famous speech he gave in Seattle in the mid 1800's, in which he made a plea asking the white man to respect the Indian's values and particularly their connection with the natural environment. So we may consider him to be among the first to have spoken about giving proper care to Mother Earth.


We passed through Seattle twice on our way to and from Orcas Island. The first time, in mid-April, we spent two nights in Seattle. Unfortunately, we chose the two nights of the year that it snowed.


Brrr. This is a long way from the beaches of California and yes we seriously considered packing up and heading south again!



However, not only was Orcas calling us over, but Seattle has a strong attraction of its own because it is the home of my beautiful niece, Courtney, a student at the University of Washington. I call Courtney my practice grandchild because she arrived in our family between the time my children were young and when they had children of their own.


My first night in Seattle, Courtney took me to her favorite restaurant, Chiso's, with Japanese cuisine.


Here I am eating raw fish and brown rice and the honest truth is that it was very tasty.


Sunday morning we had breakfast at a charming little cafe with her friend John. It turned out to be a very popular place with a long enough wait that we could sit and watch the snow melt. Breakfast was wonderful. Over the years I have joked that the secret of being known as a good cook is to keep your guests waiting long enough that they are REALLY hungry, then everything tastes marvelous. The food here would have tasted great even without the wait!


The next morning, I wanted to go to Pike's Market, so we ventured down to the waterfront and the crowds. Even though it was a chilly Sunday morning, there were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine after the snow.


I wondered if his hands would stay warm enough to play for long. He did seem to be having a good time, and was not the only street musician we saw.


Across the street from Pike's Market is the world'sfirst Starbucks. If you have been following my travels, you know that I am always thrilled to find a Starbucks and I will confess that I have never had a day without a ready-to-use Starbucks card in my pocket. Although I claim to no longer drink caffeine, those decaf latte's have my number!


Well, I skipped the latte at the original Starbucks because the line was incredibly long. I can say, Been there, Didn't do that, to having coffee at the original Starbucks.


We went instead to a great little coffee shop in the University District where kids actually hang out to study and use their computers. It was called Zoka.


A highlight of the afternoon was spending a couple of hours at the University of Washington bookstore. I adore bookstores and college bookstores are the very best. I am a great browser so I walked out with as much money in my pocket as I walked in with, but I was shocked to see the prices on college textbooks. Some of them cost more than my first quarter's tuition when I started college back in ... well, way back when.


Coming through Seattle after leaving Orcas, I got a few shots of Puget Sound and West Seattle.

My niece was my tour guide once more and this time we went to Green Lake to sun ourselves in the warmer day.


At one time, Green Lake was a popular swimming area and now is used by crew teams for practice and races and has a great walking/jogging/skating track around the perimeter.

You can see the Space Needle off in the distance.


And of course it has the requisite wild life of any decent park. Chorro spent the afternoon napping in the RV, and I didn't have the heart to tell him we were stalked by this squirrel.

Even Chorro knows that tomorrow is a new day.